Victims and relatives relived the massacre that nearly killed US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, confronting the gunman in a Arizona court Thursday as he awaited what was expected to be a life sentence.
Giffords was in court but did not speak at the sentencing hearing for Jared Lee Loughner who pled guilty in August to carrying out a deadly Arizona mass shooting in January 2011,
But her astronaut husband Mark Kelly addressed Loughner in court, saying: “Every day is a continuous struggle to do the things she was once so very good at.”
“Gabby would trade her own life for one you took on that day,” he said, cited by Tucson TV station KVOA.
“You tried to create a world as dark and evil as your own. Remember this: You failed,” according to the AZ Central news website.
Loughner’s only words were “Yes, sir” when Judge Larry Burns asked if he had agreed to decline comment.
Victims and relatives of victims gave emotional testimony before Loughner was sentenced.
“You took away my life, my love, my reason for living,” said Mavanell Stoddard, whose 76-year-old husband Dorwan died trying to shield her from the bullets.
“I felt his body give..I was holding him as he died,” she said, but told Loughner: “I forgive you. I don’t hate you. I hate the act,” according to tweets by KVOA.
“You forgot to shoot yourself,” she added, cited by NBC News.
Giffords initially sat in the second row of a packed court, but left the room at one point, CNN reported. Loughner’s parents Amy and Randy sat quietly in the first row.
Victims recount horror as Giffords' shooter sentenced
